KR102312158B1 - Pipe heating device and substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A technology capable of improving the crackability of gas pipelines is provided.
A pipe heating device according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: a heating means having a sensor installed in a gas pipe; and a heat conductive member mounted between the outer peripheral surface of the gas pipe and the sensor and formed of a material having a higher thermal conductivity than that of the gas pipe.

Description

PIPE HEATING DEVICE AND SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS

The present disclosure relates to a pipe heating apparatus and a substrate processing apparatus.

A technique is known in which a ribbon heater is attached to an exposed part of a pipe of a gas supply system in a solid raw material vaporizer and heated to a predetermined temperature that does not cause condensation of vaporized gas (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-359238

The present disclosure provides a technique capable of improving the cracking properties of a gas pipe.

A pipe heating device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: a heating means having a sensor installed in a gas pipe; and a heat conductive member mounted between the outer peripheral surface of the gas pipe and the sensor and formed of a material having a higher thermal conductivity than that of the gas pipe.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this indication, the cracking property of a gas piping can be improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is the schematic which shows the structural example of the substrate processing apparatus of one Embodiment.
It is a side view which shows the schematic structure of an example of the piping heating apparatus of one Embodiment.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the pipe heating device of Figure 2;
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the pipe heating device of Fig. 2;
It is explanatory drawing of the effect by the piping heating apparatus of one Embodiment.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, non-limiting example embodiment of this indication is described, referring an accompanying drawing. In all the accompanying drawings, about the same or corresponding member or component, the same or corresponding reference code|symbol is attached|subjected and the overlapping description is abbreviate|omitted.

[Substrate processing apparatus]

A configuration example in which the pipe heating apparatus of one embodiment is applied to a substrate processing apparatus will be described. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a schematic diagram which shows the structural example of the substrate processing apparatus of one Embodiment.

1 , the substrate processing apparatus includes a source gas supply apparatus 10 , a film formation processing unit 70 , a pipe heating apparatus 120 , and a control unit 150 . The source gas supply device 10 supplies the source gas to the film forming processing unit 70 . The film formation processing unit 70 forms a film on the wafer W serving as a substrate by an atomic layer deposition (ALD) method, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, or the like. The pipe heating device 120 heats various gas pipes provided in the substrate processing device. The control unit 150 controls the operation of each unit of the source gas supply device 10 , the film formation processing unit 70 , and the pipe heating device 120 . In addition, in the specification, the gas which put together the carrier gas and the raw material (vaporized) flowing along with the carrier gas is called source gas.

The raw material gas supply apparatus 10 has the raw material container 12 which accommodates the raw material of solid or liquid at normal temperature. A heater 14 is provided around the raw material container 12 . The heater 14 heats the solid or liquid raw material in the raw material container 12 to an appropriate temperature to vaporize the raw material. In one embodiment, the raw material is a solid raw material, and is tungsten hexachloride (WCl ₆ ). The raw material is _{not limited to WCl 6} and may be a low vapor pressure raw material, for example, tungsten pentachloride (WCl ₅ ), molybdenum _{pentachloride (MoCl 5} ), zirconium tetrachloride (ZrCl ₄ ), tantalum pentachloride (TaCl ₅ ), dodecacarbonyl tri-ruthenium (Ru 3 (CO) ₁₂ ) may be used.

In the raw material container 12, the downstream end of the carrier gas supply pipe 20 and the upstream end of the raw material gas supply pipe 30 are inserted. A carrier gas supply source 22 serving as a supply source of the carrier gas is provided at an upstream end of the carrier gas supply pipe 20 . The carrier gas may be, for example, an inert gas such as _{nitrogen (N 2 ) gas.} In the carrier gas supply pipe 20 , a mass flow controller (MFC) 24 , a valve V21 , and a valve V22 are provided in this order from the upstream side. The MFC 24 controls the flow rate of the carrier gas flowing through the carrier gas supply pipe 20 .

On the other hand, the source gas supply pipe 30 is provided in this order from the upstream side: a valve V31 , a valve V32 , a mass flow meter (MFM) 32 , a storage unit 34 , and a valve V33 . The MFM 32 measures the flow rate of the source gas flowing through the source gas supply pipe 30 . The storage unit 34 temporarily stores the source gas and supplies the required source gas in a short time. The valve V33 is a valve for switching between supply and stop of gas during ALD, and is, for example, an ALD valve that can be opened and closed at high speed. It is preferable that the ALD valve can be opened and closed at an interval of 0.5 second or less, and it is more preferable that the ALD valve can be opened and closed at an interval of 0.01 second or less. The reservoir 34 is provided with a pressure gauge 36 for measuring the gas pressure therein. The pressure gauge 36 may be, for example, a capacitance manometer. In addition, the vicinity of the downstream end of the source gas supply pipe 30 is shown as a gas supply flow path 78 because reactive gas and purge gas, which will be described later, also flow.

The downstream end of the dilution gas supply pipe 40 for supplying the dilution gas joins the position between the valve V32 and the MFM 32 in the source gas supply pipe 30 . A dilution gas supply source 42 serving as a supply source of the dilution gas is provided at an upstream end of the dilution gas supply pipe 40 . The dilution gas may be, for example, an inert gas such as _{N 2 gas.} In addition, the dilution gas is also called an offset gas. The dilution gas supply pipe 40 is provided in the order of a mass flow controller (MFC) 44 and a valve V41 from the upstream side.

Bypass so as to connect the position between the valve V21 and the valve V22 in the carrier gas supply pipe 20 and the position between the valve V31 and the valve V32 in the source gas supply pipe 30 . A tube 60 is provided. The bypass pipe 60 is a flow path for supplying the carrier gas supplied from the carrier gas supply source 22 to the carrier gas supply pipe 20 to the source gas supply pipe 30 without passing through the raw material container 12 . The bypass pipe 60 is provided with a valve V61. By closing the valves V22 and V31 and opening the valves V21, V61 and V32, the carrier gas supplied from the carrier gas supply source 22 passes through the carrier gas supply pipe 20 and the bypass pipe 60, and the raw material It is supplied to the gas supply pipe 30 . Thereby, the source gas supply pipe 30 can be purged. In addition, in order to minimize the deviation of the flow measurement value of the MFC 24, the MFM 32 can be calibrated. In addition, by measuring the difference between the case in which the raw material container 12 is passed and the case in which the raw material container 12 is not passed, the supply amount of the raw material gas can be measured with high precision.

The film forming processing unit 70 includes a processing container 72 , a mounting table 74 , and a gas introduction unit 76 . The processing vessel 72 is a vacuum vessel capable of depressurizing the inside thereof. The mounting table 74 is provided in the processing container 72 and holds the wafer W horizontally. The mounting table 74 has a heater 74a. By the heater 74a, the wafer W is heated to a predetermined temperature. The gas introduction unit 76 introduces a source gas or the like into the processing container 72 . A gas supply flow path 78 is connected to the gas introduction unit 76 , and the gas supplied from the source gas supply device 10 is supplied into the processing vessel 72 through the gas introduction unit 76 . In addition, an exhaust mechanism 82 is connected to the processing container 72 via an exhaust pipe 80 . The exhaust pipe 80 is provided with a pressure adjusting unit 84 that adjusts the pressure in the processing container 72 . The pressure regulating part 84 has the pressure regulating valve 84a and the valve 84b, for example.

In addition, the reducing gas supply passage 90 and the purge gas supply passage 100 are joined to the gas supply passage 78 .

The reducing gas supply flow path 90 supplies a reducing gas for reducing the source gas into the processing container 72 . The reducing gas may be, for example, hydrogen (H ₂ ) gas. A reducing gas supply source 92 serving as a supply source of reducing gas is provided at an upstream end of the reducing gas supply flow passage 90 . In addition, the inert gas supply flow path 94 is joined to the reducing gas supply flow path 90 . An inert gas supply source 96 serving as a supply source for supplying an inert gas is provided at an upstream end of the inert gas supply passage 94 . The inert gas may be, for example, N ₂ gas. In the reducing gas supply flow path 90 , a valve V91 and a valve V92 are provided in this order from the upstream side. The inert gas supply flow path 94 is provided with a valve V94.

The purge gas supply flow path 100 supplies a purge gas. The purge gas may be, for example, an inert gas such as _{N 2 gas.} A purge gas supply source 102 serving as a supply source of the purge gas is provided at an upstream end of the purge gas supply passage 100 . A valve V100 is provided in the purge gas supply flow path 100 .

Moreover, the Evac piping 110 is connected to the downstream of the storage part 34 in the source gas supply pipe 30. As shown in FIG. The Evac pipe 110 forms a flow path in which one end is connected to the source gas supply pipe 30 and the other end is connected to the exhaust pipe 80 . In other words, the Evac pipe 110 forms a flow path through which the source gas supply pipe 30 and the exhaust pipe 80 are connected without passing through the processing vessel 72 . The valve V111 is provided in the Evac piping 110 . By opening the valve V111 and closing the valve V33 , the source gas flowing through the source gas supply pipe 30 is not passed through the processing vessel 72 , but the exhaust pipe 80 through the Evac pipe 110 . and exhausted by the exhaust mechanism 82 .

The pipe heating device 120 heats various gas pipes provided in the substrate processing device. As the gas pipe, for example, the downstream side of the MFC 24 in the carrier gas supply pipe 20 , the downstream side of the valve V41 in the source gas supply pipe 30 , and the dilution gas supply pipe 40 , the bi The pass pipe 60 and the Evac pipe 110 are mentioned.

The control unit 150 includes the operation of each unit of the source gas supply device 10, for example, the opening/closing operation of the valves V21, V22, V31, V32, V33, V41, V61, V111, the MFC 24 and the MFC ( 44) to control the operation. Moreover, the control part 150 controls the operation|movement of each part of the film-forming processing part 70, for example, the opening/closing operation of the valves V91, V92, V94, V100, and the operation|movement of the pressure adjusting part 84. FIG. Moreover, the control part 150 controls the operation|movement of each part of the piping heating apparatus 120, for example, the operation|movement of the heater power supply 122 mentioned later.

The control unit 150 may be, for example, a computer. A computer program for performing operations of each unit of the substrate processing apparatus is stored in a storage medium. The storage medium may be, for example, a flexible disk, a compact disk, a hard disk, a flash memory, a DVD, or the like.

[Piping heating device]

Next, the piping heating apparatus 120 is demonstrated taking the part which heats the source gas supply pipe 30 as an example. However, the source gas supply pipe demonstrated below also about the part which heats other gas piping, for example, the carrier gas supply pipe 20, the dilution gas supply pipe 40, the bypass pipe 60, and the Evac pipe 110. (30) may be the same as the heating part.

2 : is a side view which shows the schematic structure of an example of the piping heating apparatus 120 of one Embodiment. FIG. 3 : is a longitudinal sectional view of the piping heating apparatus 120 of FIG. 2, and shows the cross section cut in dash-dotted line III-III in FIG. FIG. 4 : is a cross-sectional view of the piping heating apparatus 120 of FIG. 2, and shows the cross section cut in dash-dotted line IV-IV in FIG.

The pipe heating device 120 includes a ribbon heater 121 , a heater power supply 122 , a heat conduction member 123 , and a thermal switch 124 .

The ribbon heater 121 is an example of a heating means, and has the heat generating part 121a and the lead wire 121b. The heat generating part 121a is spirally wound so that the source gas supply pipe 30 may be covered except for the area|region where the thermal switch 124 in the source gas supply pipe 30 is arrange|positioned. The heat generating part 121a has a resistance heating element, such as a nichrome wire, which heat|fever-generates when electric current is supplied from the heater power supply 122, and covering materials, such as glass cloth, which coat|covers the resistance heating element. The lead wire 121b has one end connected to the resistance heating element of the heat generating part 121a and the other end connected to the heater power supply 122 . By using the ribbon heater 121 as a heating means, the source gas supply pipe 30 can be heated at low cost. In addition, the ribbon heater 121 is also called a tape heater.

The heater power supply 122 supplies a current to the resistance heating element of the heating part 121a through the lead wire 121b. The current supplied by the heater power supply 122 is controlled by the control unit 150 .

The heat conduction member 123 is attached between the outer peripheral surface of the source gas supply pipe 30 and the thermal switch 124 . The heat conductive member 123 is formed of a material having a higher heat conductivity than that of the source gas supply pipe 30 . As a material of the heat conductive member 123, when the material of the raw material gas supply pipe 30 is stainless steel (SUS), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), etc. can be used, for example. The heat conductive member 123 is preferably a clamp member that clamps the source gas supply pipe 30 . Thereby, the heat conductive member 123 can be attached to the source gas supply pipe 30 without using a tool. It is preferable that the length L1 of the heat conductive member 123 in the axial direction of the source gas supply pipe 30 is longer than the distance L2 between adjacent heat generating parts 121a, as shown in FIG. As a result, heat from the adjacent heat generating part 121a is transmitted through the heat conductive member 123 to the region where the heat generating part 121a in the source gas supply pipe 30 is not wound, so that the source gas supply pipe 30 . crack resistance is improved. Therefore, when the source gas flows through the inside of the source gas supply pipe 30, it can suppress that it solidifies again. As a result, generation of particles due to re-solidification of the source gas can be prevented.

The thermal switch 124 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the source gas supply pipe 30 in a region where the heat generating part 121a is not wound through the heat conduction member 123 . Accordingly, the thermal switch 124 may sense the temperature of the source gas supply pipe 30 rather than the temperature of the heat generating unit 121a. The thermal switch 124 is connected in series with the ribbon heater 121 , and when the temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature, the supply of electric power from the heater power supply 122 to the ribbon heater 121 is cut off. In addition, the thermal switch 124 is an example of a sensor, and instead of the thermal switch 124, the other sensor, for example, the temperature sensor which measures the temperature of the source gas supply pipe 30 may be provided.

By the way, in order to improve the cracking property of the source gas supply pipe 30 , it is also considered to arrange the ribbon heater 121 in all areas of the source gas supply pipe 30 including the area where the thermal switch 124 is installed. do. However, in this case, the thermal switch 124 senses the temperature of the heating part 121a of the ribbon heater 121, not the temperature of the source gas supply pipe 30 . Therefore, even when the source gas supply pipe 30 has not reached the predetermined temperature or higher, when the heat generating unit 121a reaches the predetermined temperature or higher, the thermal switch 124 is turned off and the heater power supply 122 is turned off. An erroneous detection occurs that the supply of current to the ribbon heater 121 is interrupted.

In addition, when the ribbon heater 121 is not disposed in a region in the source gas supply pipe 30 where the thermal switch 124 is not provided, the above-mentioned erroneous detection can be prevented. However, since the ribbon heater 121 is not disposed in the region where the thermal switch 124 is not provided in the raw material gas supply pipe 30, the temperature of the region becomes lower than the ambient temperature, and the raw material gas supply pipe 30 ), the cracking property is reduced.

On the other hand, according to the piping heating apparatus 120 of one Embodiment, the ribbon heater 121 so that the source gas supply pipe 30 may be covered except the area|region where the thermal switch 124 in the source gas supply pipe 30 is provided. ) of the heat generating part 121a is disposed. Further, between the outer peripheral surface of the source gas supply pipe 30 and the thermal switch 124 , a heat conductive member 123 made of a material having a higher thermal conductivity than the source gas supply pipe 30 is attached. As a result, heat from the periphery of the source gas supply pipe 30 toward the region in which the thermal switch 124 is installed is transmitted through the heat conduction member 123 , so that the source gas supply pipe 30 is cracked. This is improved. Therefore, when the source gas flows through the source gas supply pipe 30, it can be suppressed from being solidified again. As a result, generation of particles due to re-solidification of the source gas can be prevented.

In addition, in the above example, although the case where the heat conduction member 123 is attached to the area|region where the thermal switch 124 in the source gas supply pipe 30 is provided was demonstrated, the heat conduction member 123 is, for example, two ribbons. You may attach to the joint of the heater 121, the edge part of the ribbon heater 121, etc. Thereby, since the temperature fall of the gas piping in the joint of two ribbon heaters 121, the edge part of the ribbon heater 121, etc. can be suppressed, the cracking property of a gas piping improves more.

〔Evaluation results〕

Next, the evaluation performed in order to confirm the effect of the piping heating apparatus 120 of one Embodiment is demonstrated.

First, on the outer peripheral surface of the source gas supply pipe 30, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a thermal switch 124 is disposed through an aluminum foil, which is an example of the heat conduction member 123, and the thermal switch 124 is A ribbon heater 121 was mounted to avoid it. Subsequently, the raw material gas supply pipe 30 is heated to 180° C., and the region P3 in the raw material gas supply pipe 30 in which the thermal switch 124 is arranged and the regions P1 to P2 in which the thermal switch 124 is not arranged; The temperature of 10 places including P4 - P10 was measured.

In addition, for comparison, the thermal switch 124 is disposed on the outer circumferential surface of the source gas supply pipe 30 without an aluminum foil, which is an example of the heat conductive member 123 , and the ribbon heater 121 is disposed to avoid the thermal switch 124 . ) was installed. Subsequently, the raw material gas supply pipe 30 is heated to 180° C., and the region P3 in the raw material gas supply pipe 30 in which the thermal switch 124 is arranged and the regions P1 to P2 in which the thermal switch 124 is not arranged. , the temperature of 10 places including P4 - P10 was measured.

5 : is explanatory drawing of the effect by the piping heating apparatus of one Embodiment, The area|region in the case where aluminum foil is provided (shown by the diamond mark in FIG. 5) and the case where it is not provided (indicated by the triangular mark in FIG. 5). The temperature [°C] at P1 to P10 is shown.

As shown in Fig. 5, when the aluminum foil is disposed, the temperature in the area P3 in which the thermal switch 124 is disposed is 168.1°C, and in the areas P1 to P2 and P4 in which the thermal switch 124 is not disposed. The temperature in thru|or P10 was 174.1-191.8 degreeC. On the other hand, when the aluminum foil is not disposed, the temperature in the area P3 where the thermal switch 124 is disposed is 152.4° C., and in the areas P1 to P2 and P4 to P10 where the thermal switch 124 is not disposed. The temperature in this was 174.0-191.2 degreeC.

From these results, by arranging the aluminum foil as an example of the heat conductive member 123 , the temperature of the region in which the thermal switch 124 is disposed is higher than that of the regions P1 to P2 and P4 to P10 in which the thermal switch 124 is not disposed. It can be seen that the temperature is approximately equal. On the other hand, when the aluminum foil which is an example of the heat conductive member 123 is not disposed, the temperature of the area where the thermal switch 124 is disposed is the temperature of the areas P1 to P2 and P4 to P10 where the thermal switch 124 is not disposed. It can be seen that the temperature is significantly lowered compared to the temperature. That is, by disposing the thermal conductive member 123 between the outer peripheral surface of the source gas supply pipe 30 and the thermal switch 124 , even when the thermal switch 124 is disposed in the source gas supply pipe 30 , the source gas supply pipe 30 ) could be improved.

In addition, in the said embodiment, the source gas supply apparatus 10 is an example of source gas supply means, and the exhaust pipe 80, the exhaust mechanism 82, and the pressure adjustment part 84 are an example of an exhaust means.

It should be thought that embodiment disclosed this time is an illustration in every point, and is not restrictive. The said embodiment may abbreviate|omit, substitute, and change in various forms, without deviating from an attached claim and the meaning.

10: source gas supply device
20: carrier gas supply pipe
30: source gas supply pipe
40: dilution gas supply pipe
60: bypass pipe
72: processing vessel
80: exhaust pipe
82: exhaust mechanism
110: Ebak piping
120: pipe heating device
121: ribbon heater
121a: heating part
123: heat conduction member
124: thermal switch
150: control unit

Claims (8)

a sensor installed in the gas pipe;
a heating means having a heating unit disposed to cover the gas pipe except for a region in the gas pipe where the sensor is installed;
A heat conductive member mounted between the outer peripheral surface of the gas pipe and the sensor and formed of a material having a higher thermal conductivity than that of the gas pipe
containing,
pipe heating device. According to claim 1,
The heat conduction member is a clamp member for clamping the gas pipe,
pipe heating device. 3. The method of claim 1 or 2,
The gas pipe is a pipe through which a raw material gas obtained by vaporizing a solid or liquid raw material flows therein;
pipe heating device. 3. The method of claim 1 or 2,
The sensor is a thermal switch that cuts off the supply of power to the heating unit when the temperature is higher than a predetermined temperature,
pipe heating device. 3. The method of claim 1 or 2,
The heating means is a ribbon heater,
The heating unit includes a resistance heating element,
pipe heating device. 3. The method of claim 1 or 2,
The material of the gas pipe is stainless steel, and the material of the heat conductive member is aluminum,
pipe heating device. a processing vessel for processing the substrate;
source gas supply means having a source gas supply pipe for supplying source gas into the processing vessel;
A pipe heating device for heating the source gas supply pipe
including,
The pipe heating device,
a sensor installed in the source gas supply pipe;
a heating means having a heating unit disposed so as to cover the source gas supply pipe except for a region in the source gas supply pipe where the sensor is installed;
A heat conductive member mounted between the sensor and the outer peripheral surface of the source gas supply pipe and formed of a material having a higher thermal conductivity than that of the source gas supply pipe
containing
substrate processing equipment. a processing vessel for processing the substrate;
source gas supply means having a source gas supply pipe for supplying source gas into the processing vessel;
an exhaust means having an exhaust pipe for exhausting the inside of the processing container;
an Evac pipe having one end connected to the source gas supply pipe and the other end connected to the exhaust pipe;
A pipe heating device for heating at least one pipe of the source gas supply pipe and the Evac pipe
including,
The pipe heating device,
a sensor installed in the at least one pipe;
a heating means having a heating unit disposed so as to cover the at least one pipe except for a region where the sensor is installed in the at least one pipe;
A heat-conducting member mounted between an outer peripheral surface of the at least one pipe and the sensor, and formed of a material having a higher thermal conductivity than the at least one pipe
containing
substrate processing equipment.

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